Manufacture of rails and tie plates



June 3, 1930. J. D. JONES MANUFACTURE 6F RAILS AND TIE PLATESV "Filed Dec. 7, 192e 2 Sheets-Sheet l FUL . *w n.33 TIILH a. $2

easev a ML-* JAMES D. Jomas June 3, 1930.

J. D. JONES MANUFACTUR'. OF RAILS AND TIE PLATES Filed Dec. 7, 192e 2 sheets-snaai 2 JAMES D JONES H13 watr'ozueqg Patented June 3, 1930 UNITED STA 'I'EpSy PATENT oFFIcE JAMES D. JONES, OF SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR'TO GAT-H- MANN, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND MANUFACTRE 0F RAILS 'AND TIE PLATES l Application med December 7, 192e.l serial No. 153,066.

`This invention relates to the manufacture of rails and tie plates for railways, and the object of my invention is to produce such railsfand tie plates from steel ingots in such an improved manner that the rails shall be of suitable quality steel-physically sound.

and of substantially uniform chemical composition, thus possessing the greatest possible strength and durability, and that the tie plates are physically sound and but so slightly segregated per unit plate as to in no way impair their strength' and durability.

My method of procedure involves the use of steel ingots made by the most approved methods, in'which molten steel ispoured into ingot molds best adapted'to produce an ingot which contains a relatively small percentage of physically unsound metal and only a small percentage of highly segregated steel definitely located near the top end of the finished ingot. An ingot having these characteristics is by my invention rolled' into a bloom of desired length, the physically unsound or piped end of the bloom is cut off u and discarded for remelting, and the remainder of the bloom is cut or divided in A such manner that those portions of the bloom 3o be formed into rails, while that portion, which which are both physically sound and of substantially uniform chemical composition may although physicallysound contains a percentage which is usually excessively' segregated, is further divided in such manner as to separate that portion of the vbloom which lis physically sound and substantially homogeneous from the part containing a degree of segregation which wouldbe harmful to strength and reliabilityif used in rails.

The manner of making rails and tie plates accordingto my inventi is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are largely diagrannnatic. While these drawings il-' lustrate one approved way of operating my invention, it will be understood that the process of operation maybe varied to some extent.

Figure 1`shows a central vertical'section of a steel ingot made in a Gathmann ingot mold,

Y- the percentages of physically sound and substantially homogeneous steel, of the sound but higher segregated steel and of the physically unsound steel being indicated at` various points.

Figure 2 shows on a smaller scale a steel -ingot of the kind shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates how the ingot shown in Figure 2 is rolled into a bloom.

Figure 4 illustrates how the unsound portion of the ingot is cut oli afterhaving tions while physically sound throughout contains a portion which is chemically seg-4 regated to such an extent als to be harmful or dangerous for use in rails.

Figure 6 illustrates how the three sections of the bloom are reheated.

Figure 7 illustrates' how the physically sound and homogeneous sections of the bloom are rolled into rails.

Figure 7A illustrates the shape of the bloom after passing the first set of rolls.

Figure 7B shows the usual type of rail produced by other passes.

' Figure 8 shows how the third section of the bloom is divided to separate the physically sound and homogeneous portion thereof from the remaining excessively segregated ortion.

Figure 9 illustrates the manner o Arolling that part of the bloom containlnga high degree of segregation into tie plates.

Figure 9A shows the shape of .the bloom i resulting from the first passes. I v Y Figure 9B shows the shape of the Achannel or blank obtained by subsequent passes, from which the tie plates are made. A,

Figure 10 is a perspective .view of a form ofnished tie plate.

As is now well-known to` those familiar withthe art, the first essential in the production of highquality steel for the manufacture of rails or other articles sub]ect to heavy stresses is that the molten steel in the bath shall be cleansed las thoroughlyas practlcable from oxides and slag inclusions. The

steel, being of the required ananlysis, is cast in suitable ingot molds which, for conveni,

ence and economy of operation, should be of uniform size and' shape. With molds of the Gathmann or big-endandup t and by roper finishing of the steel, 1t has been ound possible to obtain ingots havlng a physically sound structure of from 90% to 95% of their weight. The physically unsound portion being definitely located at the uppermost part of the ingot and due to the shape and construction of the-mold and refractory top, there is assurance of a definitely large percentage lof the solidified ingot being physically sound.I

Physical soundness is, however, not the only index of quality. Y Asis well-known, steel during solidiication is subject to segre- Agation of various of its constituents, specifically carbon, sulphur and phosphorous, as well as any remaining products oftoxidation, which lack of uniform1ty tends to reduce the strength and reliability of the products made from such ingots. Segregation is most pro'- nounced in that portion of the ingot which is the last to solidify. In the use of the Gathmann type of mold, or big-end-up mold, solidiiication occurs progressively from the bottom to the uppermost portion of the ingot, while in the big-end-down mold the last of the steel to solidify is located at the central or even the'lowe'r portion of the ingot. It has been found that the chief zone of segregation lies from 3% to 4% below any visible physicall defective portion of the ingot. A steel of .l0 carbon ladle analysis frequently shows inthe solidified ingot immediately below the physically flawed section a carbon content of .90 or more. The steel with the higher carbon content being physically sound is suitable for use in the manufacture of varir ous articles such as tie plates for railways. It would not, however, be safe to make rails from steel containing widely varying degrees of carbon, as the strength and durability of the rail at various points would vary and the rail would notwithout injury stand the usual stresses to which it is subjected. Tie plates usually weigh from 10 to 40 pounds each and 1t 1s practically impossible for any great amount of segregation to occur in such articles, which are relatively small as compared with rails, which for example weigh from 700 to 2000 pounds each `with a unit length of 39 feet, wherein excessive segregation might occur to a dangerous extent if rolled from a segregated portion of an ingot.

The ingots are preferably cast of uniform standard weight and length irrespective of the unit weights ofrails to be rolled therefrom, i. e., if the ingot weight is established at 8000 pounds, six rails weighing 1000 pounds each would give a rail yield of 7 5%l and a tie plate yield of 15%, while eight rails weighing 800 pounds each would give a rail yield of and a tie plate yield of 10%, the ingot in both cases giving a sound product of 94%, of which 4% is lost due to unavoidable scaling and butt crop loss, of and 1% respectively. In the 1000 pound ralls approximately 10% of the tie plate steel would be fit for use in rail steel, but this would givea rail of under weight or short rail section not desired by the railroads; hence a high percentage of steel suitable for rails'goes into tie plate. In the 800 pound rail only 5% of the rail-quality steel is used in the tie plate and in a still 1i hter rail, say of 750 pound section, 84% can e rolled, into unit rails and only 1% of rail-quality steel is used in the tie plate. As before stated, my object is to produce rails and tie plates which are not only physically sound but which are of substantially uniform chemical compositionl per unit weight. f

Briefly stated, in carrying out my invention I use a Gathmann type big-end-up ingot. I crop and discard the physically unsound up per portion thereof, utilize the physically soundbut partially segregated part of the ingot for making tie plates and most of the remaining physically sound and homogeneous parts of the ingot for makin rails.

By la tie plate, it is to be un erstood, I mean a plate which is adapted to be secured to the wooden ties or sleepers used in the road bed of a railway and by means of which plate otherwise the varying stresses due to traflic would soon enlarge anyphysical defect or Haw, which would lead to the breakage or disintegration of a physically unsound plate long before one made of a physically sound metal would wear out. Tie plates should be made of high carbon steel, preferably of the same anal sis as the rails, as longer' wear and less liability to deformation under pressure of both tie plate and rail is thus assured.

I have found it advantageous to employ an analysis of .65 to .7 5 carbon and .25 to .50 nickel in the production of rail and tie plate steel, as steel of such structure not only has a high resistance to deformation but also is substantially rust proof.

Referring now to the drawings, the ingot I shown in Figure l should be made of well de-gasiied steel formed in a big-end-up mold of the Gathmann type. The ingot is made from steel which, analyzed in the ladle, contains about .71 carbon, and the segregation of the carbon content is indicated at various points with in the ingot by the letter C preceded by numerals indicating the percentage of carbon at the various levels.

It will be noted that the greatest concentration of segregation is found several perl cent below the bottom of the pipe or shrinka portion which is sound but segregated.

age cavity P, or in the region containing the steel last to solidify. In Figure 1 the pipe extends only5% to 8% from the top or upper end of the ingot, and the highest segregation of carbon (.99 C.) extends several percent below the base of the pipe. The approximate percent of first grade steel, or that which can safely be used in the production of rails, is graphically shown in Figure 1 by legends and ligures placed thereon, the total amount of sound steel being approximately 92% to 95% in the ingot shown. As before stated, segregation extends somewhat below the base of the pipe. The ingot shown in Figure 1 is relatively sound and homogeneous for as much as 85% `base portion upwards.

For reducing the ingot toa bloom it is passed through rolls in the manner diagrammatically indicated in Figure 3. As there shown, a portion of the bloom is of physically Jsound and homogeneous steel. Another portion is of physically sound steel but is segregated, and a third portion is of piped or unsound steel.

Figure 4 indicates diagrammatically a bloom reduced to the desired length, which for purposes of illustration may be considered 70-feet in length. About four feetof this bloom isvunsound and is cropped in the manner illustrated in Figures 4 and 4A. The remaining portion of thebloom may then be divided into three parts or sections, A, B and C, each twenty-two feet in length. The parts "A andB are of physically sound and homogeneous steel. The part C has a portion .y of sound homogeneous steel, and

The parts A and B are suitable for making rails, and the parts y of the section C is suitable for making rails, while the part a: is suitable for making tie plates.

The bloom is c ut into lengths at the points indicated, and the three bloom sections are reheated in -a furnace F, of suitable construction, in the manner illustrated in the plan view, Figure 6.

After the bloom sections A and B are thus heated, they are preferably given roughing passes in a three-high mill and are rolled into rails inthe manner illustrated in Figures 7, 7A and 7B. y

The bloom section C is passed to a shearing press (Figure 8) either before or after being subjected to the roughing passes. Preferably it is given one or two passes beforev the parts .fr and y are separated by the shears in the manner indicated. The part y may be rolled into rails in the manner before explained, but the part :v is passed directly and without reheating to a mill where it is rolled into tie plate shapes as shown.

As before stated, I employ the usual method of rolling rails, except that when the bloom from its bottom or the made from vthe top portion of the ingot has been reheated and preferably after it has an 1n1tial pass in the rollin mill it is brought to a shearlng press and t e excessively segregated portion (approximately 10% to 15% dependingupon the weight of rail being rolled) is cut off. The segregated part of the bloom is at once diverted and fed to an adjoining tie plate mill, Without the necessity of again reheating, and rolled into tie plate shapes, while the part y is continued in the passes of the rail mill until it has been shaped to the desired rail section.

. By this method of manufacture I obtain a yield of from 90% to 95% of high grade products, whereas from the old type of ingot and method of manufacture it is impossible to obtain a yield of more than to 75% of the weight of the ingot in salable rail product. `Not only is the percentage of commercial products greatly increased, but the rail and tie plate thus obtained are far superior in wearing qualities and reliability to those fore emp oyed. l

claim as my' invention: l

1. The method' herein described of producing rails and tie plates from ingots containing lless than 10% by weight of physically unsound structure and less than 25% by weight of relativelyy highly segregated structure, which consists in discarding and scrapping the physically unsound portion of the bloom and rolling that portion of the bloom which is physically sound but rela- ,tively highly segregated into relatively small tie plates and rolling that portion of the bloom which is both physically sound and sublstantially chemically homogeneous into ra1 s.

2. The method herein described of producing rails and tie plates from ingots containing less than 10% by weight of physlcally unsound structure and less than 25% by weight of relatively highly segregated structure, which consists in discardm and scra ping the hysically unsound portlon of loom and) rolling thatportion of the bloom which is physlcally sound but relatively highly segregated into relatively small tie plates and rolling that portlon of the bloom which is both physically sound and substantially chemically homogeneous yinto rails without reheating the bloom in the formation of tie lates.

In testimony w ereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JAMES D. JONES. 

